


frat parties are okay, sometimes.

by aircherub



Series: Chalex Week (2020) [4]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, ChalexWeek2020, First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25630711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aircherub/pseuds/aircherub
Summary: Chalex Week, Day 4: Charlie gets dragged to a frat party and is given an offer he doesn't want to refuse.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Series: Chalex Week (2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851778
Comments: 26
Kudos: 74
Collections: Chalex Week 2020





	1. i really wish it was only me and you

**Author's Note:**

> this is technically for yesterday's chalex week prompt (college) but i was super busy yesterday and couldn't get it finished on time so sorry about that!! here it is, it isn't really college focused but its implied i guess!! hope you all enjoy! i also dont know how frat parties work but lets just pretend i do

Charlie looked up at the comically large house Luke had taken him to. He didn’t want to go to a party, he had studying to do, papers to write and exams to stress over. He didn’t want to go to a party but he’ll admit that it didn’t take much convincing from his roommate Luke to get himself dressed and ready for a party. 

Maybe it was partly because he wanted to procrastinate, or maybe it was the fact that he was in college and he still hadn’t gone to a single party and the almost paralysing fear of growing old with regret because he didn’t go to a fucking _frat_ party and even though Charlie was on the college football team and 99% of them were part of the college frat he still held a deep dislike to any sort of fraternities, so he didn’t particularly want to be around the entire frat.

His friends had already made their way towards the open door of the house but Charlie hesitated, slightly overwhelmed already by the amount of people there. Charlie wasn’t an anxious person. He was confident and outgoing, always trying to make friends with the people around him and making them feel welcome. So the small thrum of anxiety coursing through his body was an unknown and unwelcome feeling.

“St. George, hurry up! You’re taking a shot the second we walk through this door!” Luke called over to him, a shit-eating grin painted on his face as he looked back over his shoulder. Charlie glared at him, but still hurried over to catch up with them.

Luke hadn’t lied when he said _as soon as_. The second Charlie walked up to the door he was promptly faced with a hand in front of him holding out a shot. Charlie wasn’t necessarily a lightweight, he just didn’t drink very often, not particularly liking the effects that too many drinks gave him so even when he did decide to have alcohol he didn’t have very much of it. So it was safe to say that within a few minutes Charlie was floating between the line of sober and tipsy and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was well past the line of tipsy. 

He spent the first 30 minutes of the party smiling and greeting the people he did recognise. Most of the football team, a few girls from his chemistry class, the guy that he sometimes sees stressing over his textbooks in the library. He said ‘Hi!’ to a lot of people and received drinks from other people and he was just leaning against the kitchen counter feeling pleasantly buzzed as Luke and Diego made their way over to him.

“Hey man.” Luke greeted, a sly smirk on his face and Diego also had a wolfish grin on his face and Charlie’s eyes widened as he realised what was going on. 

“No-no-no-no.” He shook his head vehemently looking almost similar to a child throwing a tantrum. “No.”

“Don’t be a prude, St. George.” Diego laughed. “We’ll cut you a deal. This time we will give you $50 to kiss someone here.” He took a crisp bill from his wallet, waving it enticingly in Charlie’s face.

“You’re paying me to make out with some random boy at a party?” Charlie asked almost in disbelief.

“It’s an incentive.” Luke supplied, unhelpfully. 

“So, you’re bribing me to make out with some random boy at a party.” Charlie said, this time with less disbelief and more annoyed.

“Not some random boy.” Luke rolled his eyes in fake annoyance. “Alex Standall.” His hand clapped against Charlie’s shoulder, the action and his words causing Charlie to stumble forwards slightly and choke on his spit because he was _not_ about to make out with _Alex Standall_.

Alex Standall. A boy that Charlie shares an English class with and always manages to hold all of his attention and distract him from the class. The Alex Standall that Charlie had an embarrassingly huge crush on the smaller boy from his English class. The crush which apparently, judging by their grins, Luke and Diego both knew about. The crush that had just walked into the large kitchen and was looking along the counter for some sort of drink.

Charlie would be lying if he said he didn’t want to kiss Alex. He had spent a lot of his English classes thinking about what it would be like to be in a relationship with Alex. To be able to call him his boyfriend, share class notes and stress over their large workload but also to be able to cuddle with him and fall asleep after long study sessions. He wanted to kiss Alex quite a lot. The $50 was just an added bonus along with being able to get Luke and Diego off his back because while yes he didn’t exactly have a whole lot of luck in the hooking up department he didn’t want them to take over his love life, or rather, lack thereof. 

Luke and Diego shared a look, seeming to agree to something before they each clapped a hand on Charlie’s shoulders and pushed him over towards where Alex was standing and pouring himself a drink. Charlie had pretty much reverted back to being sober, so he was glad to see that there was a half empty bottle of vodka and some soda to use as a mixer in front of Alex, along with at least 15 bottles of beer but Charlie needed something stronger than beer to even think about talking to Alex right now.

He took a few steps over to where Alex was standing, now mixing himself a drink but he looked up when Charlie got closer. Alex looked very bored, as if he was completely over the juvenile activities that college students get up to and he would much rather be absolutely anywhere else in the world than here. Charlie could empathise with that, he would give almost anything to just be at home watching movies in the dark but alas, there he was.

“Um, H-hey,” Charlie stuttered, blushing immediately because _damn it, why couldn’t you just speak normally_. He had only just walked up to the other boy and he was already embarrassing himself.

“Hey.” The boy said, raising an eyebrow in question. He looked Charlie up and down as if to stake him out before sipping his drink.

Charlie gave him a small smile, reaching over to pick up a plastic cup and he started to carefully pour himself a drink. He might have sobered up slightly but he still didn’t trust his hand-eye coordination enough to be confident that he won’t make a mess on the counter. He could feel Alex’s gaze on him, quietly expectant and curious to see where this was going.

“So uh… My name’s Charlie.” He said once he had finished, realising it’s unnecessary because they share the same English class but he hadn’t spoken to Alex before so he obviously wouldn’t know.

“I know.” Alex replied, smiling teasingly when Charlie gave him a confused look. 

“You’re the college football team ‘ _Golden Boy_ ’ quarterback. Of course I know your name.” Alex rolled his eyes as he spoke and Charlie was hit with a stab of disappointment. Of course Alex held a disdain towards the football team.

“Oh, uh yeah.” Charlie muttered, taking a large gulp of his drink and wondering how to play this out. He didn’t know Alex very well, but he was pretty positive that Alex isn’t the type to just make out with people at parties so he knew he just had to run with being completely honest. He took in a breath.

“Look, my friends want me to kiss someone. You, specifically.” Alex’s eyes widened slightly at that admission. “And they’re giving me $50 and we can just split the money, $25 each?” 

Charlie realised how weird that sounded. The first time he speaks to this boy and he’s offering him money to make out with him and that sounded a lot like prostitution which he was pretty sure was illegal. He was about to open his mouth and apologise to Alex, wanted to explain more but the other boy cut him off.

“That’s pretty fucked up, Charlie.” Alex said, his tone serious and very matter-of-fact. Charlie was too busy spiralling into an even bigger panic that he didn’t catch the tug of a smirk on Alex’s lips. “I mean, it doesn’t really sound fair.”

“I-well, it’s a fifty-fifty split…” Charlie’s words trailed off, his cheeks heating up with a blush and he mentally cursed his friends for dragging him to a party, “R-right?” 

Alex let out a small laugh, deciding to help the taller boy in front of him and stepping forward. He placed a gentle hand on Charlie’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing small, almost unnoticeable, circles onto his shirt. Alex looked up at Charlie, his ocean-blue eyes lidded slightly. His long, dark eyelashes caused them to look brighter and Charlie would be lying if he said he didn’t fall in love with the way Alex looked right now.

“It’s fifty-fifty _financially_ , but kissing me seems like it gets you out of a lot of trouble with your friends. Who, by the way, haven’t stopped looking at us since you came over here.” Alex smiled up at Charlie, moving his hand from Charlie’s shoulder up to his cheek when he noticed Charlie about to look over at his friends. “Maybe we should give them something to look at?” 

Charlie wasn’t sure if he was excited or terrified and he was starting to think that those two were scarily similar in the way they made his entire body simultaneously tense and vibrate with nerves. He placed a hand under Alex’s waist, his thumb pressing against Alex’s hipbone. Alex’s thumb ran gently along Charlie’s cheekbone, the soothing caress causing Charlie’s eyes to flutter shut and subconsciously lean into the touch.

“What do you wanna do?” Charlie asked, hesitant and respectful of any boundaries Alex has.

“What you’re paid to do.” Alex spoke teasingly against Charlie’s lips, he could almost feel the way Alex’s lip quirked up into a quick smirk. “You should know, if you kiss me I’m expecting to be taken out on a nice date tomorrow.”

At that permission Charlie closed the distance between them, lips falling against Alex’s as he cupped a hand over his jaw to tilt him up slightly. Alex almost immediately parted his lips, biting down lightly on Charlie’s bottom lip in a silent tease. Charlie gasped at the light sting, quietly moaning when Alex’s tongue slid into his mouth. Alex took charge of the kiss which Charlie was more than okay with, especially when the smaller boys fingers made their way to the belt loops of Charlie’s jeans, pulling their bodies closer and Charlie had to pull away because he was _not_ about to get a boner at a frat party with his friends watching.

“I’ll meet you outside the coffee shop, down the street from campus.” Alex said as soon as they pulled away from each other, his lips a soft red and his eyes clearly hazed with lust and Charlie was sure he couldn’t form a coherent response so he just dumbly nodded. “Does six sound good for you, _Golden Boy_?”

“Y-yeah. Six sounds great.” Charlie choked out, all too aware of each point of contact he had with Alex. The strong hand he still had pressed against the smaller boy's hip, the way Alex’s thumb had once again started to trail a short path up and down Charlie’s cheek.

“Perfect.” Alex leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on Charlie’s other cheek and another on his lips. He pulled away completely and Charlie mourned the loss of how his hand felt against his cheek. “I’ll see you then.”

Alex turned and walked away, Charlie frozen in place watching him make his way to a girl with curly hair and grabbing her arm to drag her away. She let out a laugh as she took in Alex’s ruffled appearance, throwing her head back and laughing harder when Alex just glared at her. Charlie didn’t even notice when Luke and Diego had joined his side, laughing heartily at the shocked and disbelieving look on Charlie’s face.

“Damn, Standall must be a fucking great kisser. You’re speechless, St. George!” Diego said through his loud laughs, slinging his arm around Charlie’s shoulders. Charlie snapped out of his shock, glaring at Diego before reaching forward and snatching the $50 from his hand.

“I’m gonna use this to pay for my _date_ with Alex.” Charlie announced, relishing in the surprised and almost proud looks his teammates gave him. He should probably feel somewhat offended that they had so little faith in Charlie’s success but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had just kissed and scored a date with his crush _and_ he got $25 out of it.


	2. when you smile, i melt inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Alex go on their first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got a couple people who were interested in seeing a chapter on their first date so here it is!! i hope it lives up to what people wanted and you guys enjoy it!

“Dude, just fucking pick something!” Luke groaned from where he was laying on Charlie’s bed. “The red sweater looked fine.”

“I don’t want to just look _fine_ , Luke.” Charlie sighed but still picked up the aforementioned red sweater and put it on. “I want to look good! It’s my first date with him, I have to, like, impress him.”

“He asked you out after a sloppy makeout session in the middle of a party, I think you impressed him enough.” Luke jumped up from the bed, pushing Chalire in front of the full body mirror resting against the wall in the middle of his dorm room. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a light button up shirt with the red sweater now covering most of it. “You look good, hot, sexy. Now, you need to leave or you’ll be late. It’s rude to keep people waiting.”

“Please never call me sexy ever again.” Charlie pleaded, grabbing his wallet, phone and keys. “I’ll see you later.”

“I don’t wanna see your ass back here until tomorrow morning St. George!” Luke called to him as he was halfway out the door. Charlie ignored his words, focusing on not tripping over his own feet as he left the dorm building.

The walk to the small coffee shop Alex told him to meet him at only took about five minutes, and Charlie spent every second of those five minutes alternating between internally panicking and calming himself down. Now that he didn’t have the excuse of focusing his anxiety on what to wear, it was directed at every other aspect of the date.

A part of him was nervous, thinking that Alex had woken up and changed his mind. Charlie didn’t have his number and he hadn’t wanted to ask around for it, so he had no way of confirming their date. The other part of him was reassuring himself that Alex was a nice person, he wouldn’t stand Charlie up at the last minute because he was the one that so confidently organised it and, even though he was getting $25 out of it, he kissed Charlie passionately enough to imply that he was at _least_ interested in him to some degree.

Charlie’s pace had unconsciously quickened once the coffee shop was in clear view, the nerves he had felt before were almost immediately overtaken by excitement and a comfortable confidence that this would end well. Maybe he was being unjustly optimistic, but even if the date led nowhere serious with Alex, Charlie was going to make the most of his evening with the other boy. 

He walked into the small coffee shop, the bell over the door chiming loudly as he stumbled in, searching the tables for Alex. There were a few customers scattered around the tables, some with a laptop open in front of them, catching up on whatever workload they had, and others were in pairs, sitting close and talking in hushed whispers. Charlie spotted Alex sitting at a table in the far corner of the store, a set of to-go cups already in front of him and Charlie felt a jolt of panic at the thought of Alex having waited for him for too long. He made his way over to Alex, nervously toying with the hem of his sweater. 

“Hey.” Charlie greeted. “Have you been waiting long?” 

“Not really.” Alex shrugged, looking up at Charlie and gesturing to the chair opposite him.

“G-good, that’s good.” Charlie nodded, taking a seat across from Alex and looking between him and the cups in a questioning manner. 

“You don’t seem like the coffee type, and I didn’t want to try and guess your tea preferences because some people get _very_ defensive over that.” Alex explained, softly smiling to himself as if recalling a fond memory. “So, I just made you a hot chocolate.”

“Wait, you made it?” Charlie asked, frowning. 

“Yeah, I work here.” Alex admitted. “My shift just ended.” 

Something warm settled in Charlie’s stomach as he wrapped his hand around the cup. The fact that Alex had finished a long shift of making countless orders of drinks and still decided to make one for him, even putting a level of consideration into what Charlie might like and dislike, was something that Charlie hadn’t been expecting but it seemed to fit Alex’s personality perfectly. 

“I guess I’ll have to come in more often.” Charlie said, taking a sip of the hot chocolate and _holy shit that was really good_. 

“Oh, yeah?” Alex smirked. “Why would that be?”

“Well, I just found out I could probably charm a certain barista into giving me free drinks.” Charlie gave Alex a cheeky grin, feeling the remnants of his previous anxiety melt away, replaced with his usual confidence. 

“Don’t push your luck.” Alex warned, narrowing his eyes playfully. “I can get you a discount. Maybe I’ll give you extra stamps on a loyalty card, if I’m feeling nice.”

Alex sent Charlie a small smile, picking up his cup. He looked around the coffee shop, eyes falling to where his coworkers were watching with unconcealed curiosity at how the date was going. Alex rolled his eyes, his attention falling back on Charlie. 

“I was thinking we could go to this small park around the block?” Alex asked. “I don’t exactly wanna stay at my workplace when I could be somewhere else with a cute guy.” He flirted, winking at him and Charlie was certain Alex just liked seeing him flustered. 

“Yeah!” Charlie exclaimed, blushing when he realised how quickly he answered and judging by Alex’s smirk he definitely just wanted to see him flustered. “Y-yeah, that sounds great.” 

Alex stood up and picked up his cup, gesturing for Charlie to follow suit. Together they walked out of the coffee shop, Charlie holding the door open as Alex waved goodbye to the two barista’s, though the wave turned into a swift middle finger as they made teasing kissy faces back at him. 

They made their way to the park, drinks in hand as they strolled down the empty street. A cool breeze brushing past them every now and then. They didn’t speak much, both content to just walk side by side in a comfortable quiet until they reached the black painted gates of the park. It was a small park, Charlie could see, a few benches and trash cans scattered along the edges of the path that bordered a vibrant green field of grass. There were small patches of flowers that weren’t in bloom just yet, but in the coming spring months would flourish and add beautiful pops of colour to the otherwise monotone park.

Alex pointed to a bench further down the path, lightly grasping Charlie’s wrist and leading him over to it. They sat down, close enough that their thighs were touching and Charlie could feel the warmth from Alex’s body, wishing he had the courage to wrap his arm around Alex’s shoulder, pull him closer but this was their first date, he was going to pace himself. 

“At the risk of sounding like a highschool, first date cliché,” Alex began. “We should play 21 questions.”

“Yeah, sound’s good.” Charlie shifted himself so he was facing Alex, excited to get to know more about him.

“Alright. You first, Charlie.”

Their game of 21 questions didn’t last long, forgetting to go back and forth and instead they just willingly emitted facts about themselves to each other. An equal exchange of information that had both of them learning new things outside of Alex being in his English class and Charlie being on the football team.

Charlie learned that Alex doesn’t live on campus, rather in a small apartment block a few streets away from the park they were currently at. He learned that he lives with a highschool friend, Jessica, who was also the same friend that teased Alex relentlessly for making out with someone at a frat party. He also learned that Jessica is dating Justin, who Charlie knew from the football team and he was already planning double dates that the four of them would go on. He learned that Alex is really into music, naming bands that Charlie had vaguely heard of before but would definitely be listening to after hearing the way the older boy talked about them, and he even plays the guitar, a fact that had Charlie almost begging to hear Alex play something. Alex, reluctantly, agreed. 

In return Charlie told Alex about how he loves to bake, and how the minimal appliances in college dorms don’t allow for that sort of hobby so he only ever really gets the chance to bake when he goes back home for the holidays. He told him about how his room mate is his childhood best friend, Luke, and told him years worth of anecdotes of all their shenanigans. Alex even asked about football, which was surprising because Charlie knew he wasn’t interested in sports or the team and Charlie felt that warmth from earlier settle in his stomach once again because Alex was trying to show that he cared about Charlie. 

They avoided delving too deep into the topics that were too heavy for first date conversation material, but they both knew the questions were there, under the surface. Charlie didn’t ask about the scar he could see peeking through Alex’s short, auburn hair. Alex didn’t ask about how Charlie’s childhood tales featured his mom but she seemed to be absent from all of his teenage year stories. There would be a time for those questions to be answered. 

The soft blue sky above them faded into vibrant pinks and yellows and oranges and the sun started setting. Both boys alternated between looking up at the melting colours and over at each other. Charlie snuck searching glances of Alex’s profile, mapping out the small details that he hadn’t noticed before. The way his face clearly expresses whatever he’s thinking about, the small furrows of his eyebrows and downturns of his mouth when he’s being negative or the small upward curls of his lips showing that whatever he’s thinking of is amusing. Charlie wanted to memorise all of Alex, all of his quirks and flaws, he wanted his life to become entangled with Alex’s. 

“It’s getting pretty dark out.” Alex said, voice soft and insinuating. 

“I’ll walk you home. You said you live near here, right?” Alex nodded. “Let’s go then!” 

Charlie got up from the bench and Alex looked at him for a second, almost as if trying to figure something out and whatever it was, he clearly decided it was good because he stood up as well, immediately grasping Charlie’s hand and pulling him out of the park. Charlie could see the faint blush on Alex’s cheeks as he entwined their fingers together, giving his hand a small squeeze as they walked out of the park.

It didn’t take long to get to Alex’s apartment complex and Charlie committed the route to memory because he knew he would be back here very soon. They stopped just outside of the building, hands still interlocked between them and Charlie really didn’t ever want to let go. He wonders how he had ever felt any amount of anxiety or nervousness before now because being with Alex just felt right and comfortable. 

“So, am _I_ gonna have to give you $50 for a kiss this time?” Alex asked sarcastically. 

“Hmm…” Charlie pretended to think it over, laughing when Alex dropped his hand to swat lightly at his shoulder. “Well, I guess I can get you a discount.” Charlie parroted Alex’s earlier words, grinning triumphantly when it elicited a small smile and a fond, at least Charlie hoped it was fond, shake of his head. 

“You offer loyalty cards too?” Alex asked mockingly, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels. 

In response, Charlie gently placed a hand on Alex’s jaw, tilting his head up to press their lips together ever so sweetly. Alex’s hands moved up to Charlie’s broad shoulders, not pulling him closer or reaching up to tug lightly at his hair, just holding himself steady as Charlie swiped his tongue over Alex’s bottom lip. Charlie kept one hand cupping Alex’s jaw, the other resting on his waist, pressing against the fabric of his plaid shirt. Alex was less demanding without a crowd to watch them, more pliant and meek while Charlie took charge of the kiss this time. Charlie realised he very easily could get used to kissing Alex if it came with a frequent role reversal like this. 

They pulled away, breaths coming out heavier than before and Charlie really didn’t want to go back to his dorm room and leave Alex when his lips were red and shiny and it was all because of him. Luckily, Alex seemed to share that sentiment. 

“Anything else you can get me a discount on?” Alex asked, voice dripping with an innocence that was contradicted by the way his slim fingers pulled at his belt loops, bringing Charlie’s body closer in a move that reminded him of their kiss at the party last night. “Or does that just apply to kisses?”

“I’m sure we can work something out.” Charlie teased, leaning in once more to kiss Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos + comments r appreciated, i might make a third part to this that'll be 90% smut so please lemme know if you guys would be interested in reading that!!! 
> 
> i also made a tumblr!! so go follow it [here](https://aircherub.tumblr.com/) and i'll follow you guys back!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> comments + kudos are always appreciated <3


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